‘The Shadow and the Law’: Stevenson, Nabokov and Dostoevsky

Discusses Vladimir Nabokov\u27s comments in lectures at Cornell praising Robert Louis Stevenson\u27s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde while condemning Fyodor Dostoevsky\u27s Crime and Punishment, and compares the two novels\u27 treatment of the double in their central character with Nabokov\u27s Humbert Humbert in Lolita

Assessing Norway’s Gender Recognition Act of 2016: Analysing personal experiences of legal gender change

In July 2016, a Gender Recognition Act (GRA) was implemented in Norway which allows one to change legal gender (male/female) without the previously required sterilisation. Though this move by the Norwegian state has been widely celebrated by trans rights advocates for its progressive approach to gender recognition, the Act’s limitation to the male/female binary and the lack of concurrent improvement in trans-specific medical access raise concerns about how far-reaching and transformative it actually is. Given the diversity of trans experiences and identities, this article seeks to address the following question: in what ways is the Act on gender recognition capable of empowering those who change legal gender, and in what ways can it prove limiting or detrimental? To answer this, I conducted interviews with twelve individuals who changed their legal gender soon after the Act’s implementation. Applying Thematic Analysis to the interviews, I uncover and analyse moments of empowerment and disempowerment in order to explore the potential of legal gender recognition to shape one’s personhood and citizenship in the Norwegian context

Mikhail Zoshchenko's "Michel Siniagin": a critical study and translation

This thesis is a critical study and translation into English of Mikhail Zoshchenko's long story "Michel Siniagin", including a critical analysis of the text of "Michel Siniagin" in relation to other work by the same writer, and a discussion of the specific problems raised by Zoshchenko's work for the English language translator.The first chapter of the thesis is devoted to language and style in Zoshchenko's work. "Michel Siniagin" and the related cycle of "Sentimental Tales" are viewed in the context of the author's broader stylistic project. The chapter opens with a discussion of skaz in Zoshchenko's short stories as a reflection of early Soviet socio-linguistic reality and as an attempt to expand literary narrative beyond the discourse of the educated classes. It goes on to describe the emergence of a parodic semi-educated writer figure in the "Sentimental Tales", whose literary style parodies the democratisation of culture in post-revolutionary Russia and the attempts of those in authority to create a proletarian classical literature or "Red Lev Tolstoi". Some of the specific stylistic features of "Michel Siniagin" are then examined in greater detail.The second chapter explores some of the more important thematic elements of "Michel Siniagin" and the "Sentimental Tales". It aims to show the thematic continuity of Zoshchenko's work and to emphasise intertextual connections with contemporary literary developments and topical social and philosophical questions. This chapter also explores the autobiographical element in "Michel Siniagin" and looks at the significance for Zoshchenko of the real life beggar-poet Aleksandr Tiniakov, who served as the inspiration for the anti-hero Siniagin.The third chapter is devoted to the problems of literary translation. It begins with a defence of practical, critically engaged models of translation theory, arguing that when theory becomes divorced from practice, it tends to stray into abstract and perfectionist discourse and to distort the reality of translation as it actually happens. The chapter summarises recent arguments in favour of free/dynamic versus literal/formal translation strategies. It then examines how the specific nature of Zoshchenko' s work affects the translator's choice of strategy, comparing the effectivity of some previous translations of Zoshchenko' s short stories. The final part of this chapter looks at the problems posed by the deliberately clumsy prose style of Zoshchenko' s fictional "author" in "Michel Siniagin" and the "Sentimental Tales", compares my own translation with existing translations. It is argued that interference from foreign cultural associations is more detrimental to the humour and spirit of Zoshchenko' s work than interference from so-called "translationese".The penultimate chapter of the thesis explores the impact of self-censorship and censorship on Zoshchenko's work in general and on "Michel Siniagin" in particular, comparing different versions of the text of "Michel Siniagin" and describing amendments made to the text by Zoshchenko at manuscript stage and by editors at later stages in its history

Avoiding indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is challenging the resilience of the most solid health systems in the world. In many low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), the disease is rapidly spreading amid numerous endemic health problems such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition, and frequent outbreaks of viral infections with high associated mortality. All this occurs in a context of weak health infrastructures that can barely cope with the aforementioned existing health challenges

A Storm in a Tea-Cup? 'Making a Difference' in Two Sure Start Children's Centres

Sure Start Children's Centres were central to the last UK Labour government in improving outcomes for children and families. Yet, participation by those who 'ought' to attend was and remains a focus of concern. Using the work of Foucault, this paper explores parental participation in two Centres to examine how 'government operates at a distance', through the everyday interactions of those who inhabit these spaces. In exploring micro-practices, the humble cup of tea can be seen, not only as a small act of caring but a site of power and struggle over what these spaces meant to parents and practitioners

Cough-generated aerosols of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other Gram-negative bacteria from patients with cystic fibrosis

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common bacterial pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Current infection control guidelines aim to prevent transmission via contact and respiratory droplet routes and do not consider the possibility of airborne transmission. We hypothesized that with coughing, CF subjects produce viable, respirable bacterial aerosols. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 15 children and 13 adults with CF, 26 chronically infected with P. aeruginosa. A cough aerosol sampling system enabled fractioning of respiratory particles of different size, and culture of viable Gram negative non-fermentative bacteria. We collected cough aerosols during 5 minutes voluntary coughing and during a sputum induction procedure when tolerated. Standardized quantitative culture and genotyping techniques were used. Results: P. aeruginosa was isolated in cough aerosols of 25 (89%) subjects of whom 22 produced sputum samples. P. aeruginosa from sputum and paired cough aerosols were indistinguishable by molecular typing. In 4 cases the same genotype was isolated from ambient room air. Approximately 70% of viable aerosols collected during voluntary coughing were of particles ≤ 3.3 microns aerodynamic diameter. P. aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Achromobacter xylosoxidans were cultivated from respiratory particles in this size range. Positive room air samples were associated with high total counts in cough aerosols (P=0.003). The magnitude of cough aerosols were associated with higher FEV1 (r=0.45, P=0.02) and higher quantitative sputum culture results (r=0.58, P=0.008). Conclusion: During coughing, CF patients produce viable aerosols of P. aeruginosa and other Gram negative bacteria of respirable size range, suggesting the potential for airborne transmission

Fieldwork@40: fieldwork in geography higher education

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Geography in Higher Education on 9th September 2018, available online: 10.1080/03098265.2018.1515187Fieldwork is the most powerful learning invitation in the toolkit of Geographical Education. This review of papers in The Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE) suggests seven modes in the development of fieldwork. These are arrayed as a kind of historical, perhaps evolutionary, sequence but most remain current in Geography fieldwork practice. At the far end (1960s) of the sequence are didactic modes that are teacher centred and use the field as an adjunct to the classroom, in the middle (1990s) are modes that involve active learning and focus on the development of students as investigators and at the near end (2010s) are those that centred on the field study area and its qualities, that involve concern about the ethics of student engagement and that employ blended learning technologies. The review charts the JGHE’s gradual shift away from its original, almost exclusively, UK-focus toward something rather more international and inclusive. Fieldwork is where Geographers learn “from doing” Geography to “do” Geography. Its special attributes include providing experiential, sometimes transformative, learning through the immersion of the learner in the field experience. In 40 years, JGHE has helped Geography Fieldwork move from the margins of the curriculum to its current place at its core

A review of the benefits and drawbacks to virtual field guides in today’s Geoscience higher education environment

Virtual Field Guides are a way for educators to tackle the growing issue of funding pressures in areas of higher education, such as geography. Virtual Field Guides are however underutilised and can offer students a different way of learning. Virtual Field Guides have many benefits to students, such as being more inclusive, building student skills and confidence in a controlled environment pre fieldtrip and can increase engagement in the topic studied. There are also benefits to the educator, such as reduced cost, more efficient students on fieldwork tasks and the ability to tailor and update their field guides to suit their needs. However there are drawbacks in the challenge of creation and their outcome as educational standalone tools. This paper reviews the literature around the benefits and draw backs to the creation and incorporation of virtual field guides in geoscience education. © 2017, The Author(s)